Re: YADPT (D=Dutch)

Quoting John Cowan <cowan@...>:

> Andreas Johansson scripsit:
>
> > The exact meaning of _visi-_ seems to be unknown - several sources says
> > it may mean "noble", which sounds like a self-chosen designation. No
> > indication what language it may be from, which I guess suggests it is
> > indeed Gothic.
>
> The traditional interpretation of "Visigoth" and "Ostrogoth" are that they
> mean West Goth and East Goth respectively, which certainly fits the facts.
> Has there been some reason to reject this?
The way I learnt it, "Western Goth" and "Eastern Goth" are reinterpretations,
probably by Cassiodorus, while the original means are supposedly
probably "Noble Goth" and "Shining Goth".

My father's library being out of reach, I can't say much more than that. The
articles on the Goths in the Nationalencyclopedin, written by the medievalist
Dick Harrison (a Swede, despite the name), agrees with my version.

In the 3th C, when the terms first appear, the Visigoths did indeed live west
of the Ostrogoths.

                                                     Andreas

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